Everything Matters
by Hannah Tennant-Cumberbatch
Summary: Looking down at their new baby daughter, John and Rose realise there are so many more exciting adventures that life can offer than those in time and space. TenII/Rose, one-shot.


**A/N: A little, lovely, TenToo/Rose, fluffy one-shot to put me off my writers block. If you like, please review! I also don't own Doctor Who, but I'm sure you know that! Hannah x**

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John Smith couldn't sleep. He rarely ever did; he only ever got into bed because Rose Tyler was going to be there beside him. If it wasn't for Rose, he probably wouldn't even think about sleeping at all- somehow, that human aspect of needing to let his brain shut down for a few hours a night didn't apply to him. That side of him was purely Time Lord, and it hadn't ever changed ever since he, Rose and Jackie left Bad Wolf Bay almost two years ago.

Two years ago. Wow. Just two years ago? So many things had happened in those twenty-four months. So much more than he ever experienced in his nine hundred years of travelling in time and space. Well, technically, John was only two years old- but his brain, his memories… They were a lot older than two years old. His love for Rose Tyler had lasted so much longer than the two years they had spent solidly in each other's company.

And John couldn't be happier. Of course, he missed the new sky above his head and the feeling of new ground beneath his feet. He missed the new sounds, the new smells, the new sights; all that time and space travel could offer. But that was _nothing _compared to the life he was living now. The Doctor, the _real _Doctor, would still be doing that- maybe with a new face, John didn't know. He would have a new companion, hopefully, someone to love him and give him hope. He would have his trusty TARDIS and he'd have the impossibly large stretch of the universe to explore.

But he wouldn't have this. He wouldn't have Rose. And Rose, to be honest, was worth a lot more than the Daleks and the void and the time vortex. Thinking back to the first time both he and Rose were departed back on Bad Wolf Bay, John didn't know why he didn't just tear apart those two universes for her. He should've known, back then, Rose Tyler was definitley worth it.

Then again, if that _had _have happened, John might've not existed right now. Donna might have never found that hand and never have performed the metacrisis. They might've never arrived on the Crucible in the first place.

Oh, it was all very timey-wimey. But John and Rose, they had decided not to focus on the 'what ifs' and 'could haves.' They focused on the here and now, not on the future or the past or anything that came in between.

And that was something the Doctor would never be able to do. Despite at first feeling second-best to the fully Time Lord Doctor, John realised he was _so _much better off than he was. John couldn't regenerate, he only had one heart; but that one heart he could devote entirely to Rose Tyler. And the Doctor had two, but those two hearts were constantly in flux. They never knew who to love, who to hold, next.

But John Smith knew where his one and only heart belonged. There was no doubt about that.

John shifted out of his position in the bed, and turned to face a sleeping Rose Tyler. Her soft blonde waves framed her pale face, making her look just beautiful. There was no other words John could describe his wife.

_Wife. _The first time in years that John could say that word and feel love instead of guilt, heartbreak and grief. Even though he couldn't ever truly forget his past family back on Gallifrey, he'd moved on. Far on. He wasn't even the same man- he was a duplicate of the man who experienced all of that. But he still felt that pain.

But he felt adoration more.

John ran his fingertip across Rose's jawline, leaning in to plant a small kiss along the bone. The skin felt soft and warm beneath his lips, and he could've lay there and kissed it forever; but there was one other person who was tugging at the back of John's mind- a person who deserved as much affection and faith as he gave his wife.

John smiled softly to himself as heard a soft whimper coming from next door to their bedroom. It looked like that person wanted his attention.

Leaving Rose in her becalmed and sound state, John wriggled out from under the duvet and pressed his feet into the carpeted floor. He didn't have any slippers to slip on- he didn't like them. He insisted on wearing socks in bed, no matter how much Rose protested about them. He was pretty sure she thought they were sexy really.

Gently pushing open the door and closing it quietly behind him, John approached the adjacent bedroom. It was small, this other room, but John had to admit; it was the best bedroom in the house. It had the biggest window with the best view of the world outside. Even though it revealed just the row of houses opposite and the pavement, looking out there reminded John about how much life was happening out there. How many people were just getting on with their lives, going about their day-to-day errands and jobs and all sorts. That was another privilege the Doctor couldn't have- that sheer sense of plain and ordinary normality of the human race.

But that person who was lying peacefully in that room was the biggest thing in which the pure Time Lord was missing out on.

John flicked the switch of the lamp on the cabinet, filling the room with a hazy, orange light. Just enough light for him to make out all the furniture in the room, as well as the cot in the corner where a small and slight body lay.

A baby.

_His _baby. _John's _baby. _John and Rose's _baby.

_Their _baby.

A little, one month old, baby girl.

And that little baby was the most incredible thing in the universe. Forget the Medusa Cascade and Dalek fleets, fatherhood had to be the most complicated, infuriating, maddening and beautiful thing in the whole galaxy.

John shuffled over to the cot and leaned down next to it, soaking in the sight before him. He absent-mindedly let his hand dance up and down the little girl's body, smiling as she shifted in her sleep.

John hadn't had much time with their daughter on his own before; he'd always been with Rose. But now, he was on his own.

"Hello there," John whispered, grinning, as the baby cracked open one of her little brown eyes. She didn't make a sound, not one. She just stared up at her father. "Little Amser Smith."

Amser blinked, stretching out her arm. John took her tiny hand in his. "Five fingers. Good. That's a good sign, y'know. Because back on…"

John held back on his words. "It doesn't matter."

"Yeah, it does." a voice emerged, coming from the doorway.

John snapped his head back, revealing Rose Tyler, who had a smile on her perfect face.

"Everything matters, John." Rose said, walking forward to join Rose at their daughter's bedside. "Everything."

She pressed a light kiss on her husband's forehead.

"How'd you know I was in here?" John asked.

"The light was on," she grinned, "Plus I could hear you talking."

"Oh. Right." John smiled back. "Well, I couldn't sleep, so I came in here. I was just talking to little Amser here, and…"

Rose hushed him, pressing a finger to his lips. "I hope our daughter doesn't pick up on your immense rambling skills. Anyway, continue that story that you were about to tell."

"But-"

"But nothing, John." Rose warned. "I want Amser to hear all your stories, all our story. I want Amser brought up on believing that absolutely everything is possible." she paused, looking down at the baby. "We've been on so many adventures, John, but I believe that this is our biggest yet."

John smiled, cupping Rose's cheek in his hand. "I believe it is, Rose Tyler."


End file.
